Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily was a state in Sicily and parts of southern Italy. It also included parts of Northern Africa for a time. It started in 1130 when Roger II of Sicily created it. It lasted until 1816.

Before it was a kingdom, Sicily was a county. This happened in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula.

The island had three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone, and Val di Noto. In 1282, a revolt called the Sicilian Vespers caused the island to separate from Angevin rule. The mainland part became the Kingdom of Naples. Sicily became a semi-independent area ruled by relatives of the House of Barcelona. Later, Sicily joined the Crown of Aragon after the Compromise of Caspe in 1412.

Over time, Sicily came under Spanish control. This happened after the crowns of Castile and Aragon joined together. The island changed rulers many times. It was ruled by the House of Savoy and later Austria. After the Napoleonic period, Sicily merged with Naples. This formed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Later, it became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

History

Norman conquest

Main articles: Norman conquest of southern Italy and County of Sicily

By the 1100s, leaders in southern Lombard areas and the Byzantine Empire hired Norman mercenaries. These Normans were descendants of Vikings from northern France. Roger I led the Normans who took Sicily from Muslim rulers. After capturing Apulia and Calabria, Roger took Messina with 700 knights. In 1068, Roger and his men beat the Muslims at Misilmeri. The most important battle was the Siege of Palermo, which led to all of Sicily being under Norman control by 1091.

Norman kingdom (1130–1198)

See also: Kingdom of Africa

Roger II, the first King of Sicily

The Norman Kingdom began on Christmas Day in 1130 when Roger II of Sicily created it. Roger united the lands he inherited from his father, Roger I. These lands included the Maltese Archipelago taken from the Arabs of the Emirates of Sicily, the Duchy of Apulia and the County of Sicily. Roger supported Antipope Anacletus II, who made him King of Sicily on Christmas Day 1130.

In 1136, Pope Innocent II convinced Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor to attack Sicily with help from the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus. Two armies, one led by Lothair and the other by Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, invaded Sicily. On the River Tronto, William of Loritello gave in to Lothair and opened the gates of Termoli. Count Hugh II of Molise also joined. The armies met at Bari, and in 1137 they continued their attack. Roger offered to give Apulia to the Empire, but Lothair refused after pressure from Innocent. Lothair's army rebelled.

Lothair wanted to fully take Sicily, but he gave Capua and Apulia to Roger's enemies. Innocent protested, saying Apulia belonged to the Papal claims. Lothair headed north but died crossing the Alps on 4 December 1137. At the Second Council of the Lateran in April 1139, Innocent said Roger was wrong for being schismatic. On 22 March 1139, Roger's son Roger III, Duke of Apulia attacked the Papal troops with a thousand knights and captured the pope. On 25 March 1139, Innocent was forced to accept Roger's rule with the Treaty of Mignano.

Roger spent much of the next ten years making laws to strengthen his rule. He also fought off attacks and dealt with rebellions by his main supporters. In the mainland areas, Roger had to deal with leaders who did not want to accept the new kingdom or the king's power. After breaking the opposition, the mainland was reorganized around Terra di Lavoro, Apulia, and Calabria. Some areas were changed or given to loyal barons. Royal administration relied on local military leaders, including royal constables (comestabuli), who helped manage forces and lesser barons.

Through his admiral George of Antioch, Roger took the coast of Ifriqiya from the Zirids, calling himself "King of Africa". Roger's fleet also attacked the Byzantine Empire, making Sicily a strong sea power in the Mediterranean Sea for almost a century.

Roger's son and successor was William I of Sicily, known as "William the Bad". His nickname came from chroniclers who did not like him because he put down baronial revolts. In the mid-1150s, William lost most of his African lands to local revolts. In 1160, the last Norman African base at Mahdia was taken by the Almohads. His rule ended peacefully in 1166. His elder son Roger IV, Duke of Apulia died in earlier revolts, and his son William II was young. Until William II became old enough to rule in 1172 under his mother Margaret of Navarre, there was trouble in the kingdom. William II's rule is remembered for two decades of peace and prosperity. He is called "the Good" for this. However, he had no children, which caused a problem for who would be next king. His aunt Constance, the only heir as Roger II's daughter, had been kept in a monastery. In 1184, she was promised to Henry, the eldest son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor and the future Emperor Henry VI. William made Constance and Henry the heirs, but officials did not want German rule. When William died in 1189, the kingdom began to decline.

With support from officials, Tancred of Lecce took the throne. In the same year, he faced a revolt from his cousin Roger of Andria, who supported Henry and Constance but was tricked and executed in 1190. Henry invaded for his wife but had to withdraw after his attack failed. Empress Constance was captured but released after the Pope's pressure. Tancred died in 1194, and Constance and Henry took over: the kingdom fell in 1194 to the House of Hohenstaufen. William III of Sicily, Tancred's young son, was removed, and Henry and Constance were crowned. Through Constance, the Hauteville line passed to Frederick, who ruled Sicily as Frederick I.

Hohenstaufen period (1198–1266)

Main article: History of Swabian Sicily

Imperial troops storming Salerno in 1194

Triumph march of Henry VI into Palermo

Woodcut illustration of Constance of Sicily, her husband Emperor Henry VI and their son Frederick II

In 1197, the rise of Frederick, who would also become Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1220, greatly changed Sicily. For a land used to strong kings, the young king's age caused a big problem with power. His uncle Philip of Swabia appointed Markward von Anweiler, margrave of Ancona, as regent in 1198. Meanwhile, Pope Innocent III claimed power in Sicily but recognized Frederick's rights. The pope's power decreased over the next years and he was unsure which side to support.

The Hohenstaufen hold on power was not strong. Walter III of Brienne had married the daughter of Tancred of Sicily. She was the sister and heir of the removed King William III of Sicily. In 1201, William tried to claim the kingdom. In 1202, an army led by the chancellor Walter of Palearia and Dipold of Vohburg was defeated by Walter III of Brienne. Markward was killed, and Frederick came under the control of William of Capparone, an ally of the Pisans. Dipold continued fighting Walter on the mainland until William died in 1205. Dipold took Frederick from Capparone in 1206 and gave him to the chancellor, Walter of Palearia. Walter and Dipold argued, and Dipold took the royal palace, but was besieged and captured by Walter in 1207. After ten years, the fights over regency and the throne stopped.

The reform of laws began with the Assizes of Ariano in 1140 by Roger II of Sicily. Frederick I continued with the Assizes of Capua (1220) and the Constitutions of Melfi (1231, also known as Liber Augustalis), a set of laws for his kingdom. The Constitutions of Melfi were made to create a centralized state. For example, people could not carry weapons or wear armor in public unless ordered by the king. This reduced rebellions. The Constitutions made the Kingdom of Sicily an absolute monarchy, the first centralized state in Europe to develop from feudalism; it also set a rule for written law. With small changes, the Liber Augustalis stayed the basis of Sicilian law until 1819. During this time, Frederick also built the Castel del Monte, and in 1224, he started the University of Naples, now the University of Naples Federico II.

Frederick fought off a Papal attack on Sicily in the War of the Keys (1228–1230). After his death, the kingdom was ruled by Conrad IV of Germany. The next heir was Conradin, who was too young to rule. Manfred of Sicily, Frederick's illegitimate son, took power and ruled for fifteen years while other Hohenstaufen heirs ruled in Germany. After long wars with the Papal States, the Kingdom defended its lands, but the Papacy said the Kingdom was taken because the Hohenstaufen were not loyal. Under this claim, Manfred agreed with Louis IX, King of France. Louis's brother, Charles of Anjou, would become king of Sicily. In return, Charles agreed to the Pope's rule, paid part of the Papal debt, and promised to pay yearly tribute to the Papal States, the Chinea.

The Miossi family, a noble family, was chosen in 1251 by Pope Innocent IV to manage the Kingdom of Sicily. The Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily ended after the 1266 Angevin invasion and the death of Conradin, the last male Hohenstaufen heir, in 1268.

Angevin Sicily (1266–1282)

In 1266, fights between the Hohenstaufen and the Papacy led to Sicily being taken by Charles I, Duke of Anjou. After Manfred of Sicily took the Sicilian throne from Conradin in 1258, the relationship between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen changed. Instead of the young Conradin, the Papacy now faced a strong military leader who supported the Ghibelline side at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260. When talks with Manfred broke down in 1262, Pope Urban IV offered the crown to Charles of Anjou again. With Papal and Guelph support, Charles entered Italy and defeated Manfred at the Battle of Benevento in 1266 and Conradin at the Battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268.

Opposition to French rule and taxes, plus calls for rebellion from the Crown of Aragon and the Byzantine Empire, led to the successful Sicilian Vespers uprising. This was followed by King Peter III of Aragon coming in 1282. The War of the Sicilian Vespers lasted until the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, splitting the old Kingdom of Sicily in two. The island of Sicily, called the "Kingdom of Sicily beyond the Lighthouse" or the Kingdom of Trinacria, went to Frederick III of the House of Barcelona. The mainland areas (the Mezzogiorno), called the Kingdom of Sicily but known today as the Kingdom of Naples, went to Charles II of the House of Anjou. The peace recognized an uneasy balance. The split became permanent in 1372 with the Treaty of Villeneuve. Though the king of Aragon took both titles in the 1500s, the two parts of the Kingdom of Sicily stayed separate until 1816, when they joined as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Sicily under Aragon and Spain (1282–1700)

See also: Kingdom of Trinacria

Sicily was ruled as an independent kingdom by relatives of the House of Barcelona, and then added to the Crown of Aragon after the Compromise of Caspe in 1412. The Kingdom of Naples was ruled by the Angevin ruler René of Anjou until the thrones were joined by Alfonso V of Aragon, after he successfully took Naples and defeated René on 6 June 1443. Alfonso divided the two kingdoms during his rule. He gave Naples to his illegitimate son Ferdinand I of Naples, who ruled from 1458 to 1494, and the Crown of Aragon and Sicily to his brother John II of Aragon. From 1494 to 1503, French kings Charles VIII and Louis XII, heirs of the Angevins, tried to take Naples (see Italian Wars) but failed. Eventually, the Kingdom of Naples was joined back with the Crown of Aragon. The titles were held by the Aragonese kings of the Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Spain until the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg ended in 1700.

In 1530, to protect Rome from Ottoman attacks, Charles V, as king of Spain and Sicily, gave the islands of Malta and Gozo to the Knights Hospitaller forever, in return for sending annual fee of two Maltese falcons each All Souls' Day to the Viceroy of Sicily. The Maltese Islands were part of the county and later the Kingdom of Sicily since 1091. The link between Malta and the Kingdom of Sicily continued under the Knights until the French occupation of Malta in 1798.

Savoyard and Habsburg rule (1713–1735)

From 1713 to 1720, the Kingdom of Sicily was ruled by the House of Savoy, given to them by the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession. The kingdom was a reward that raised the Savoyards to royal status. The new king, Victor Amadeus II, visited Sicily in 1713 and stayed a year before returning to his capital, Turin, where his son the Prince of Piedmont acted as regent. In Spain, the war's results were not accepted, leading to the War of the Quadruple Alliance. Sicily was taken by Spain in 1718. When Savoy could not defend Sicily, Austria stepped in and swapped its Kingdom of Sardinia for Sicily. Victor Amadeus protested this swap, as Sicily was a rich land with over a million people and Sardinia was poor with fewer people, but he could not resist his "allies". Spain was finally defeated in 1720, and the Treaty of the Hague made the change official. Sicily went to the Austrian Habsburgs, who also ruled Naples. Victor Amadeus continued to protest for three years, and only in 1723 agreed to give up the Sicilian royal title and its related titles.

Bourbon rule (1735–1816)

Main article: History of Bourbon Sicily

In 1734, after the War of the Polish Succession, Naples was taken by King Philip V of Spain, a Bourbon, who made his younger son, Duke Charles of Parma, King Charles VII of Naples. He also became King of Sicily as Charles V after Austria gave up Sicily in exchange for the Duchy of Parma and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. This began a time of growth and reforms, with many public projects started by the king. He ruled Sicily until becoming Charles III of Spain in 1759, when the Treaty of Vienna (1738) stopped him from ruling both Italy and Spain together.

Charles III gave power to Ferdinand, his third son, who became Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily. Still young, Ferdinand grew up enjoying life while real power was held by Bernardo Tanucci, the regent. During this time, most of Charles's reforms stopped. The king was often away or not interested in government, and rule was led by Queen Maria Carolina and prime ministers Tanucci (until 1777) and John Acton. The latter tried to move Naples and Sicily closer to Great Britain, represented by ambassador William Hamilton. This was the time of the Grand Tour, when Sicily was visited by many Europeans who spread word of its beauty.

In 1799, Napoleon took Naples, forcing King Ferdinand and his court to flee to Sicily protected by the British fleet under Horatio Nelson. While Naples became the Parthenopean Republic with French help and later a kingdom under French influence, Sicily became a British base against Napoleon. Under British advice, especially from Lord William Bentinck, commander of British troops in Sicily, Sicily tried to modernize its government, forcing the King to agree to a Constitution like Britain's. The island was under British control from 1806 to 1814. The main change was creating a two-chamber parliament instead of the existing three. This ended feudalism in the Kingdom.

After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, Ferdinand removed all reforms and erased the Kingdom of Sicily by creating the new Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Naples as its capital in 1816. The people of Sicily rebelled against this break of its old laws but were defeated by Neapolitan and Austrian forces in 1820. In 1848–49, another Sicilian revolution of independence happened but was crushed by the new king, Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, known as Re Bomba after his five-day attack on Messina. The growing anger of Sicily's people and leaders toward Naples and the Bourbon rule created tension, controlled only by increasing police power, executions, and exiles.

Society

During the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, local communities kept their rights. New rulers brought in lords from northern Italy. This caused conflicts and uprisings in many towns and villages. These fights damaged farmlands. Many people joined forces with the Aragonese. This pattern continued until the Angevins were removed during the Sicilian Vespers. The Angevins gave more power to noble families.

In the 1600s, a big eruption near Catania and strong earthquakes caused many deaths. There were also times when sickness spread. The kingdom faced hard times in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many leaders were dishonest, and unfair treatment by rich families led to groups forming to fight back. Over time, more protests happened, leading to Sicily joining Italy.

The kingdom had a parliament starting in 1097. It met regularly until the Sicilian Constitution of 1812.

Demographics

By the mid to late 13th century, the Kingdom of Sicily had a population estimated between 4 and 4.5 million people. Some areas, especially in the mountains and pastures, had many people living there.

Later, after losing some northern areas in 1282 during the Sicilian Vespers and facing natural disasters like the 1669 Etna eruption, the population decreased. By 1803, the Kingdom had about 1,656,000 people. The main cities included Palermo, Catania, Messina, Modica, and Syracuse.

Economy

See also: Subventio generalis and Hemp in the Kingdom of Sicily

The soil of Sicily was rich, which helped rulers bring in new farmers. This made farming grow and the land very productive. The kingdom’s wealth came from its busy seaside cities, especially Naples and Amalfi. Goods like durum wheat, nuts, timber, oil, bacon, cheese, furs, hides, hemp, and cloth were sold to other lands.

Sicily sent these goods to places such as Genoa, Pisa, the Byzantine Empire, and Egypt. Over time, Sicily began to lose its strong economic position as trade rules became unfair and taxes went up.

Coinage

The Norman kings in the 1100s used a coin called the tari. It had been used in Sicily since the year 913. One tari weighed about one gram and was made of gold. Other coins like the Arab dinar and the Byzantine solidus were also used. Later, Emperor Frederick II introduced a new coin called the augustalis. In 1490, another coin called the triumpho was made in Sicily. Different coins were used for trading.

Religion

During the time of the Norman rulers, many different religious groups lived together in the Kingdom of Sicily. These groups included Latin Catholics, Greek Catholics, Muslims, and Jews. Even though Latin Catholics were in charge, people of different faiths often worked and lived together.

Later, as new rulers came in, life became harder for Muslims. Many were moved to different areas, and some were treated unfairly. The Muslim community was eventually broken up and sent away.

The Kingdom of Sicily officially recognized Christianity as its state religion starting in the 12th century.